Beyond Repair
by Elfian Aqua
Summary: During the filming of Sonic's latest movie, a tragedy occurs on Angel Island: Knuckles' death. Newscasts give their take on what happened, but Amy doesn't believe it. She is determined to discover the truth, but she doesn't expect what she finds.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I don't own the Sonic characters.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Sonic the Hedgehog was a name that almost every household knew. Not because of his daring feats of world salvation, but because of the line of toys and games that these feats had generated. There was also the movie, which now had four sequels, that dramatized his escapades of saving the world from the notorious Eggman. These movies had boosted toy and game revenue and always held the first place slot in the box office for four weeks straight. There was no doubt of his latest movie would upholding this four week standard.

Sonic currently stood on the set for his latest movie: _The Day of Darkness_. He smiled broadly as he looked around. The budget for this production was double the amount of the last movie and showed in all sets thus far. But this set…Sonic sighed with pleasure. "This set is magnificent." To be used during the Eggman scenes shot three days from now, it contained all the makings of the mad scientist's lab: loads of giant glass tubes, tons of monitors, and more shiny red buttons than Sonic knew what to do with. Eyeing a red button nearby, Sonic poised his finger to press it when—

"Oh Sonic! I'm so-o scared!" The patter of feet echoed as Amy crossed the gray plated floor. Sonic knew he could easily outrun her but chose to stand still, fearing what might happen to the set if she was forced to pursue him. In moments her arms were wrapped around his neck in a spine-snapping embrace.

"Who let you in," Sonic said through gritted teeth. Whoever had would be fired. He had informed all workers that Amy was only to be let into the studio when they were shooting her scenes, which would be when he was long gone.

"That doesn't matter," Amy said. She pulled back to stare him questioningly in the eyes. "Don't you watch the news?"

There could only be one piece of news to which Amy referred, and Sonic had clapped and laughed upon hearing it that morning. "Yeah, their turning Knuckles' island into a theme park. Great, isn't it?"

Amy abruptly released him and took two stumbling steps back. "Sonic, Knuckles is dead."

"So I've heard. But it's a pity about the Master Emerald having gone missing. I wanted to use it in the movie."

Amy grabbed him by the shoulders. "Knuckles is dead," she said again. "Don't you care?"

Sonic brushed her hands off his shoulders. "Of course I do. He still has two scenes left to shoot."

"Wait a minute— Sonic, I thought you and Knuckles were friends."

He gave her an incredulous look. "Friends? Amy, the guy was always attacking me, accusing me of stealing his emerald."

He watched as Amy's clenched fists moved beneath her chin and eyes widened. "But…but…but…" she stammered.

"If it's the funeral you're worried about, don't. I'll make sure he gets a decent one."

Amy stamped her foot. "Who cares about the funeral? What Knuckles needs is justice!"

"Justice?"

She nodded. "The news reports say he committed suicide, but I know he would never do that."

Sonic shrugged. "You might be right. After all, the guy was an idiot, not suicidal. He probably tripped and fell on that butcher knife."

Amy violently shook her head. "No, no. Don't you get it Sonic. Knuckles didn't kill himself on accident or on purpose. Someone else killed him."

Sonic smiled bemusedly. So Amy wanted to play detective? "What," he asked. "Are you saying Eggman finally lost it and killed Knuckles?"

"Yes! All you have to do is connect the dots. Eggman has always wanted Knuckles' Master Emerald, right? But Knuckles was always getting it back or smashing it or something. So Eggman decides enough is enough and…and…"

"Drives a butcher knife through his heart," Sonic supplied.

Lips pursed, Amy nodded. "Someone has to stop him, Sonic. Someone has to give Knuckles his justice." Sonic smiled and his hand moved to Amy's shoulder. He felt her shiver under his touch. Her eyes gazed at him with love and thankfulness. "Oh I just knew you'd—"

"Good luck with that," Sonic interjected. He lifted his hand and he gave her two quick encouraging slaps on the shoulder.

She stared wide eyed. "What?"

Before Amy could arouse from her daze, she was grabbed roughly by the arms and lifted from the floor. "Finally," Sonic said, giving the late security guards an approving nod. They hauled Amy toward the exit as she kicked and screamed in protest. "I don't care where you dump her," he called after them. "Just so long as it's far away from here."

* * *

Amy marched down the gray sidewalk of 57th street, her messy quills swaying in the bursts of wind created by the occasional car that zoomed by. Patting down her quills in a poor attempt to smarten up, she silently berated the security guards who had snatched her from Sonic and thrown her into a dumpster behind _Fish & Chips_ before she'd had a chance to find out what Sonic meant by, "Good luck with that." However, during the long ride in the trunk of the guards' car, she'd had plenty of time to meditate on the _why_. Her conclusion: Sonic meant that his way of giving Knuckles justice was by making his movie the best it could be in memory of the echidna, and so she should do likewise by finding Knuckles' killer and prosecuting him. But Amy didn't know how to prosecute. And she had no idea how to go about finding a killer. Lucky for her, _Fish & Chips_ was at the corner of 57th Street and Cutie-pie Lane, only three blocks away from _Found It_, a newly opened Detective Agency.

The agency was located in a small, grimy brick building, shoved between a burger joint and a nail salon. Though Amy thought the place looked run-down and second-rate, she had a feeling their prices were right up her alley, so she opened the door with chipping yellow paint and purposefully strode inside. The building, it turned out, housed one large room; waiting chairs lined up in rows on the right side; a well-kept desk and filing cabinets on the left side. Amy disliked this setup. She disliked the lack of a front desk with a secretary to give her a lollipop. She disliked how the animal who should have greeted her upon her arrival sat at his desk with his face obstructed by the opened newspaper he seemed to find so much more important than her. She disliked how anyone would be able hear everything she said about the case she needed looking into; though the room was empty, save herself and the guy at the desk. Most of all, she disliked the smell of burgers wafting through the opening window; she was hungry and paying for a detective would no doubt leave her with no money for burgers.

"You," she said, striding up to the desk. "I want to speak with a detective."

"That would be me." The guy did not put down his newspaper or even glance around it to look at her. Amy frowned.

"Well, okay. Then I want to hire you."

"The answer to that would be _no_."

"But that wasn't a question."

"The answer's still no."

"But I need your help."

"No."

Amy stomped her foot. This guy was insufferable! How dare he, with an office as trashy as this, reject the ten dollars she had to offer. "Now look here!" She snatched the newspaper from his hands. Her gaze fell to his face and all things she'd been about to say screeched to a halt at her mouth.

Frowning at her, the detective "tsked" and crossed his arms. "And here I was hoping you'd just walk away."

Slack-jawed, Amy dropped the newspaper and pointed a shaky finger at him. "You're alive," she murmured. "But how? We all saw you falling to Earth. We all thought you were…How did you live?" She did not give him a chance to answer. Instead she shouted,"Shadow, you're alive!"

Then Amy leaped over the desk and on top of him. She, Shadow, and his wooden chair tumbled to the floor. There was a loud crack, which Amy took to be the sound of some part of the chair snapping, for surely Shadow—who had survived the fall to Earth—wouldn't break so easily.

Her arms snaked around his neck, and she pressed her cheek against his, not at all minding the uncomfortable position she'd put them in, too happy to feel him breathing in her arms.

"Get off," Shadow growled. He pulled at her arms.

Amy giggled, thinking how that was exactly what Sonic would say. She would never understand why boys felt the need to hide their emotions rather than delight in them. And Shadow had to be just as happy as her to be reunited after all this time. She hugged harder. "Oh, just wait till I tell everyone I saw you today. They'll all be so happy! Sonic, Tails, Knuckl—" Remembering her departed friend, Amy pushed away from Shadow, sitting up on his stomach. "Shadow, I need to hire you." She stared desperately into his eyes.

Not responding, Shadow moved out from under her. Standing, he motioned for her to get off his chair. She did, and he righted the seat—its snapped back remained on the floor. He sat. "I would like for you to leave now."

"Leave?" Amy came to the front of the desk and stared down at him. "But I haven't even told you why I'm hiring you yet."

"I already told you: No."

Amy stared at him for several moments. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "Alright, I understand." Kneeling down, she dug into her boot and pulled out a ten dollar bill. She slapped it onto his desk.

Shadow looked at the bill and then at her. "What is that?"

"Your payment. You expect upfront payment, right?"

Lifting a brow, he stared at her as though she'd grown another head. "This," he said slapping his hand over the bill and sliding it toward himself, "will be compensation for my broken chair. And now, you may leave."

Leave? But he still didn't know what she was hiring him for. Did he not care what she was hiring him for? Was he just going to take the money she'd earned begging on the streets and not do the job she was paying him to do? And what did he mean by compensation for his broken chair? It wasn't her fault it was so cheap. Why was he treating her this way?

"Why are you being so cold, Shadow? I thought we were friends. I mean, I know we barely know each other, but I still thought we were friends."

"We _don't_ know each other," Shadow was quick to correct. "We saw each other for, what, five minutes up on ARK? How does that make us friends?"

Amy didn't want to admit it, but the guy had a point; still, _she'd_ always considered him a friend even if he'd never thought of her that way. But, okay, he didn't think of her as a friend. So what? Was that any reason not to accept her business? From the looks of it, he needed any business he could get. "Friends or not, why won't you let me hire you?" Shadow gave her a look that Amy took to be something close to a glare. "Well?" she demanded, not the tiniest bit deterred. "I'm not leaving till you tell me."

She watched as Shadow, tense, stared at her, possibly considering removing her by force. Then all at once, he sighed and relaxed. "I want to forget that part of my life," he whispered.

Amy blinked. "What?"

"I want to forget what happen on ARK," he elaborated. "I want to forget that awful me I'd become back then. I want to press the reset button and start fresh." His features had softened and a soft light seemed to shine on his face. "But," his face hardened and the glow vanished, "you showing up here and asking me to find out why Sonic doesn't love you is making starting over pretty hard. I can't pretend I've never met any of you when you're standing in front of me calling me your best friend."

"Oh." So the events surrounding the Space Colony ARK—which Amy had chalked up as another of Sonic's crazy adventures—was a terrible memory for Shadow. "I had no idea," Amy said sympathetically.

"It's okay," Shadow said. "And now that you know why, you can—"

"But let's get some things straight," Amy said, holding up her fist. "Sonic _does_ love me." Her forefinger flew up, counting this as thing number one. "I never said you were my _best_ friend." Second finger flew up. "And," third finger flew up, "you can't press reset, because this isn't a game, Shadow." She pointed down to the floor. "This is real life, and in real life you face your past mistakes, no matter how hard it is to do that. Just like I'm facing Knuckles' death." One hand moving to her hip, she slapped the other one down on Shadow's desk. "And that's why I'm hiring you. Knuckles died and everyone's saying it was a suicide, but I know it was murder. So I need you to find proof that Eggman killed him so that Knuckles can get his justice and rest in peace."

Clearly unmoved by her speech, Shadow stood and pointed to the door. "And now that you know why I can't help you, kindly show yourself out." Amy did. But only after she'd tackled him and wrenched her ten dollars out of his ironclad grasp.

* * *

Amy awoke to the ringing of her phone. Earlier, heartbroken over failing to hire Shadow and stomach pleasantly filled with a burger, fries and a shake, Amy decided to take a short nap.

Groggily, she now sat up and looked around. She was in her apartment's living room and on her tan suede couch that seemed to swallow anyone who sat on it. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at her wall clock, its face lit by the burning orange light of the fading evening sun. "Five thirty?" she said, mind still fuzzy with sleep but quickly clearing with the incessant ringing of her phone. "Can't believe I slept that long." Stretching, she ambled to the small corner cabinet where the phone sat. "So much for a short nap," she yawned before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Amy?"

She yawned again. "Mmhmm. Who's this?"

"It's Tails." The fox cub sounded snippety. "Where have you been? I've been calling for the last fifteen minutes?"

Suddenly completely awake, Amy demanded, "Is something wrong?" Had Eggman made another attack?

"Yes," Tails answered, and Amy felt her heart drop. "You were supposed to be on set over half an hour ago."

Amy blinked. "What?"

"You're shooting time was rescheduled for today. Didn't you get my memo?"

This was about a memo? Not Eggman? "Tails," she screeched. "Don't scare me like that!" She took a deep breath and leveled her voice. "You had me thinking Eggman had harmed someone else."

"Eggman?" Pause. "Oh. Sonic said something about you believing Eggman was responsible for Knuckles' death."

Amy clutched her phone, as though she were clutching Tails' shoulders. "Yeah! You think so too, don't you?" When Tails didn't answer, Amy feared remaining the only one who believed Eggman was responsible. If this continued, she too might settle for believing Knuckles had…

"You really think Eggman did it," Tails asked, voice quiet.

"I don't know…" Amy said faintly. Then she violently shook her head. What was she thinking? She couldn't give up on Knuckles! All the times she'd been kidnapped by Eggman, Sonic never gave up on her. "Honestly, I don't know if Eggman did it, because I don't have proof. But I _do_ know that Knuckles didn't kill himself. And I'm going to keep searching for answers even if no one believes me."

Tails both surprised and delighted her when he said, "You're right about Knuckles. He would never kill himself. And I think you may be on to something with Eggman."

"Really?"

"Yes. And if you come down to the set, then after we finish shooting your scenes, I can show you what I've already found out about his supposed suicide."

"What you've already found?"

Tails chuckled. "The moment I heard about Knuckles, I thought it was strange and did some detective work."

If Amy wasn't holding a phone, she would have clapped. "That's wonderful Tails! I'll be at the set in twenty minutes."

* * *

When Amy reached Sonic Studios, the sun had completely set. Since she was expected, she went directly through the front gates with no worries of being stopped by the guards (they were pleasant and called her Miss).

She headed for the prison set on foot, throwing the occasional glance behind her shoulder. She never saw anyone when she looked behind her, but she had a feeling that somewhere in the shadows…She stopped and turned completely around. All she saw was the black asphalt of the lot, set alight by the nearby lampposts positioned before the studio's lunch hall. She peered into the unlit darkness at the lunch hall's side. "Who's out there?" She waited for an answer but got only silence. "I know you're there. You've been following me since I left my apartment." More silence. "Fine," she said. "If you won't come out, then I'll make you." Her hammer materialized in her hand and she took a deliberate step forward.

Shadow stumbled out of the shadows. "Have you always been so violent," he demanded.

Amy's eyes widened with delight then narrowed from confusion. "You've been following me?" Shadow's answer was a shrug. Slightly disgusted, Amy shirked back. "Sorry, Shadow, but I'm not into stalkers." As an afterthought, "Unless they're Sonic."

Shadow snorted. "First off, I'm not into _you_. Secondly, I'm not stalking you."

"Then what _would_ you call what you were doing?"

"Making sure you don't become the next victim."

"Victim?" Amy pronounced the word slowly with much apprehension. "What are you talking about?"

Shadow strode forward, stopping just three feet in front of her. "You were right about Knuckles."

So caught off guard by this statement, it took Amy several seconds before she gave a surprised gasp. "Then you've accepted the case!" She laughed, dropped her hammer, and threw her arms about his neck. "I knew you cared."

Shadow tried to push her away from him. "I do not," he hissed. "I just need the money. So I'll be taking back your ten dollars."

"Ah…" She pulled back from him and thought of the tasty lunch she'd gotten for that ten. "Why don't we go see Tails first," she asked and grabbed Shadow's hand. "He's waiting for me on set. He said he has proof that Knuckles didn't kill himself." She pulled Shadow toward the newly built set. It was housed within quickly constructed metal panel walls. She pushed open the door and tugged Shadow inside.

To her surprise, the room was pitch black. Her hand released Shadow and she turned in a circle. "This doesn't make sense. Tails should be here." She stopped turning and squinted at the darkness. "Or the camera crew at least."

Unexpectedly, Shadow slipped his hand around hers. "I think we should leave." His voice was soft, his tone urgent.

Suddenly, Amy remembered what he said about her becoming the next victim. "What did you mean back there, about me becoming a victim?" She turned to look at Shadow. He stared back at her, eyes dark and red as blood.

"I think someone might try to kill you."

Amy felt her eyes grow wide. "Why?" Her voice shook.

"To keep you from looking for answers." His hand tightened around hers and he tried to pull her to the door. She resisted his tug, determined not to leave until he gave a better explanation. With a sigh, he did. "What I saw on Angel Island was no suicide scene. Any cop worth his salt would know that with just a glance. Yet they've told news reporters it was a suicide."

Amy found nothing strange about this. "Maybe they're trying to keep things secret so that the killer won't know they're on to him."

Shadow shook his head. "No. It's something else. They've got their officers crawling the place, looking for something. And security around the island is tight, so I had to sneak in. But it seems that for whatever reason they don't want anyone coming in. Or maybe," his eyes narrowed and he leaned slightly forward, "they don't want anyone coming out."

Amy shrank back from him and tried to free her hand. "Then that's good, right? That means their searching for Knuckles' killer."

Shadow laughed and straightened, his grasp on her hand unrelenting. "No. It means that they're looking for —"

All at once the set's door slammed shut, bathing Amy and Shadow in total darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - **Sorry that this chapter is so late in coming out, but I've been busy.

Thanks to everyone who favorited and alerted this story. And a special thanks to Solar Tonatuih, I Like ShadAmy, and GIGA-XISBASS for reviewing.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Shadow had been about to tell Amy the true reason none of the news reports about Knuckle's suicide made sense when darkness fell upon them. Just seconds after darkness had fallen, light flooded the room. This light came so suddenly that Shadow flinched, eyes squinting. Amy chose to shield her eyes with her free hand. She blinked several times. Then, "Holy Snapple," she said.

Shadow saw why.

The room was a long entryway going left and right with but a few steps to take forward before colliding into a green wall. Along the wall were three purple doors, each with its own number—1, 2, 3—positioned at the door's center and gleaming gold. High above the doors, stretched across the wall's length, was a sign that read _Kintobor's Funhouse_. As Shadow took in his surroundings, enchanting carnival music filled the air. "Amy," he said. "Didn't you say this was supposed to be a prison set?"

Amy's hand lay limp in his as if she'd forgotten he held it. When he looked at her, he saw wonder in her expression as she looked around. But when she spoke, her voice was vacant. "I've been wanting to go to a funhouse."

Shadow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Amy, this is obviously a trap. We need to leave."

"Leave?" Flowing seamlessly into the winding carnival music, there came a voice that was both whimsical and distorted. "But you've only just got here. And I'm sure the young lady would love to experience a night of fun. Especially after experiencing the loss of a dear, dear friend." The lilting voice's tone was so hypnotic that Shadow almost found himself agreeing with it. However, his willpower was too strong to be swayed by whatever hypnosis this fiend was trying to put them under.

Too bad Amy wasn't. "Yes, I need a night of fun," she mindlessly said.

"In Kintobor's funhouse," the voice said.

"In Kintobor's funhouse," Amy agreed.

"Now choose a door."

Eyes glazed, feet slow and heavy, Amy took two steps toward door two. Shadow, still in possession of her hand, yanked her back to him. "Amy—" Amy slipped free from him, leaving him clenching her glove rather than her hand. However, she made no further advance for door two.

"Shadow," she said.

Momentarily baffled by the fact that Amy still sported a glove on both hands when he held the glove she'd worn on her left, he distractedly answered, "Yes?" Silently he wondered how many pairs of gloves she was wearing.

"I need a night of fun!" Because his eyes were already on her hands, he saw her hammer materialize. He quickly crossed his forearms and held them in front of him, blocking her blow before it caused damage, but the force of it sent him skidding backward and in that short amount of time, Amy ran through door number two.

"Amy!" He ran for the door, but it slammed shut in his face. When he tried the knob, it wouldn't turn. He tried a spin attack.

"That won't do, Shadow," the voice said as Shadow's curled body bounced off the door that stood intact. "This funhouse is made of a special matter that cannot be broken by the strongest of hedgehogs. Though to be honest, when I made it, I didn't have _you_ in mind."

Shadow righted himself and stared upward and around. "Who are you?"

"Now, now," the voice admonished, "it wouldn't do for me to give myself away. And the better question is _how_ are you here?"

Shadow had no intention of answering that. "What are you going to do with Amy?"

The voice chuckled. "If you really want to know, then pick a door. Though, only one person is allowed through each door, so number two is no longer an option."

Pick a door, huh? To go after some Sonic-crazed fan who liked putting herself in precarious situations. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. How he ever thought Amy was the slightest bit like Maria, he'd never know. Unlike Amy, Maria was kind, she was sweet, and she was gentle. She was also a shameless prankster.

There was that one time on ARK when she…

"_Shadow, if anyone asks, I was with you all morning." Maria rushed into Shadow's room, shoulder's heaving as she gasped for breath._

_Shadow closed the book he'd been reading and set it next to him on his bed. "What did you do this time, Maria?"_

_Maria grinned, toothily, and grabbed the seat in front of Shadow's desk and slumped into it. "I put a cherry bomb in a toilet in the men's restroom."_

"_You did what? We're in space, Maria. That's dangerous! And don't you mean the woman's restroom?"_

"_Nope. And why don't you guys have a couch in there?"_

Shameless, yes, that was Maria. And she'd been such a shameless prankster that she'd brought about her own death.

"_Maria, let me out of here!" Shadow pounded his fist against the escape pod that contained him._

"_No, Shadow. This time my joke's gone too far. I sent the president a threatening letter."_

"_What?"_

"_And it exploded while he read it, completely destroying his hands. I'd only meant for it to cover him in soot like in Inspector Gadget."_

"_But that's a cartoon!"_

"_I know that now, Shadow. And they know it was me who sent the letter; my address was on the envelop."_

_Shots rang out and Maria slumped against the control panel; red stained her blue dress._

"_Maria!"_

"_Sha-Shadow. Please go to Earth…make people's dreams come true…just like you…made mine…"_

Maria had always needed so much looking after.

"Um, hello? Are you having a flashback or something," the voice asked. Shadow ignored the voice and continued with his inner monologue.

Amy—so vibrant, so full of life, so right in front of him—needed looking after too. He moved toward door number one. But he wasn't doing this because of that, he told himself. Whether she needed looking after or not, he just wanted the ten dollars.

He opened door number one and stepped inside. Immediately, the floor beneath his feet collapsed and he went hurtling downward. "Darn it all," he shouted.

The voice's maniacal laughter filled the air.

As Shadow fell to the unknown, he decided that enough was enough. Amy was getting charged an extra ten dollars.

* * *

Though not a cat, Shadow landed on his feet. He staggered from the impact and instinctively reached out for something to help balance him; his hand landed against a gray railing. Now upright, he stepped back and looked at his surroundings in the dimly lit room. "What the…" Shadow found that he stood on a small disk enclosed by a circle railing. This disk stood at the center of a pit, whose bottom could not be seen. Enclosing the pit was a cylinder wall, lined with unnumbered spikes, long and dangerous. Amidst the spikes, several yards higher than where Shadow now stood, was a passageway, just big enough for him to go through. However, this passageway stood—if his estimate was correct—about half a mile away, and the disk he stood on was only three feet in diameter, nowhere near long enough for him reach a running speed high enough to jump the half mile distance of this perfect circle pit.

"Welcome to the room of Spinning Fate." The voice returned. Its tone lacked the lilting melody from before. Now it sounded cruel and bitter.

Shadow stared up at where an unknown source of light spilled from and demanded, "Where's Amy?"

"You should worry less for Amy and more for yourself. Once that disk you stand on starts spinning, you'll have no choice but to hold on for dear life. And your life must be very dear to you, Shadow, seeing how you—against all odds—found a way to survive the fall to Earth; anyone else would have given up and died. So let's see if you can find that will to survive all odds again. For there is a chance for survival here, Shadow. Let go at the right moment and you'll sail through that passageway and be one step closer to finding Amy. Or let go at the wrong moment and…well I'm sure you get the gist of it." The voice paused for a trill of maniacal laughter then, "Ready. Set. Go!"

With a jerk, the disk began a slow spin to the right. Quickly and carefully, Shadow stepped over the railing, positioning himself so that his back faced the pit's walls and the fronts of his feet stood on the spinning floor. His hands tightly gripped the silver railing.

The disk's speed increased.

Soon Shadow was being whirled round and round; the force of the spinning flung his body upward and would have sent him hurtling into the waiting spikes, if his hold on the railing had not been so strong. The constant swirling wrenched his stomach, urging him to relieve it of today's late lunch, distracting him from what he needed to do—concentrate. Closing his eyes, he pushed back the need to vomit, blocked out the roaring wind in his ears, and the unpleasant image that kept conjuring in his mind of his chest impaled by one of the large spikes. He blocked out all distractions and concentrated on letting go at the right moment, so that he would sail through the passageway, so that he could get to Amy.

"Help me Maria," he prayed. "Help me to help her." Believing in Maria, he let go of all trepidation, thus allowing him to believe in himself. Trusting his calculations, he released the railing.

He soared backward and up. Instinctively, he curled into a ball. In seconds, he hurtled through the passageway and felt himself roll onto stone floor that soon turned into something smooth and slick that sent him rolling down in a spiraling motion. With a plomp, he fell from the smooth, spiraling surface and onto a smooth, flat one.

He uncurled himself with a groan. Sitting up, he looked at his new surroundings and groaned again.

The cruel voice rejoined him, booming loudly. "Why so sad? You survived. You should be laughing, not groaning. Or did you want to die?"

Shadow stood and faced the giant cylinder before him. Its insides turned, shifting directions ever so often as it did the speed it turned at. Within the cylinder, random holes appeared and fire spurted forth, fences of pure electric energy hummed between pairs of adjacent rods, and seemingly harmless silver spheres floated, evenly dispersed across the cylinder that seemed to stretch for a couple of miles.

"How many of these stupid rooms do I have to go through," Shadow demanded.

Sounding terse, the voice said, "Who are you to complain? None of this was meant for you anyway."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Who were these traps meant for?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Sonic. He always seems to happen upon Amy whenever she's in danger. So as a precaution, I built these courses to hold him back while Amy is…taken care of."

Shadow snarled, fist clenching. "Just let her go. She doesn't know anything."

"No," the voice agreed. "But she'll keep searching until she knows everything. And it seems you've already learned quite enough, Shadow."

"Who are you?"

The voice remained silent, and Shadow began to think it wouldn't answer. Then, "Who I am is of no importance. Now, if you want, you can try to make it through this obstacle course. It was designed merely to slow Sonic down, but I trust you'll have a harder time getting through—if you get through at all. Have fun." Its mocking laughter boomed in the air before fading.

"Whatever," Shadow muttered and ran headlong into the cylinder. The shifting speed and rotation of the cylinder was a minor impediment, causing him to speed up or slow down and do a sudden zig or zag. The obstacles that had been laid out—the spewing fire and electric fences—he easily dodged. As for the silver spheres…

He approached the first sphere. It looked harmless, and he was reminded of the old adage that said looks can be deceiving.

The adage was right.

When he was seven feet away from the sphere, it morphed, a tiny tube appearing on its front and aiming for Shadow. When it fired its laser shot, Shadow anticipated it and leapt in the air, curling into a ball and sending himself hurtling for the sphere. He expected to burst through the sphere on contact. Instead, the sphere surrounded itself with an electric force field. Pain shot through his body as he was propelled backwards and the golden rings he kept tucked in a secret pocket came pouring out. He slammed against the cylinder's rotating floor and was spun left into one of the electric fences, but not before grabbing two of his fallen rings. Crying out, he managed to wrench himself free of the electric sheet as his two rings fell from his grasp. He toppled over, and the floor continued its rotating, sending him on a one way trip into a spurt of fire. Just in time, he jumped to his feet and raced out of the way, grabbing his one remaining ring before it faded into oblivion.

Tucking the ring away, he ignored the pain surging through his body and ran toward the sphere again. He cursed his earlier recklessness as he dodged the sphere's next laser attack. He landed on the far right of the cylinder and barely managed to roll away from the next blast sent his way. Thinking quickly, he performed a series of leaps within the cylinder—to the top, from top to left side, from the left side to the right side, from the right side to the bottom—and managed to pass the sphere unscathed.

"Too easy," he said with a smirk.

Too easy was right. Running forward, he glanced over his shoulder and found the sphere flying toward him at supersonic speed. It glowed hot red and juddered. "That thing better not be about to self-destruct," he muttered, knowing full well that it was. Two seconds later it did, and the blast propelled him forward, straight into the next sphere.

* * *

"Game over!" Amy clapped and laughed. She'd just destroyed the last of the fire-breathing robotic moles in the room-wide game of Whack-A-Mole. The entire floor was covered with smashed pieces of mole robots that, instead of popping up from floor to be whacked down, came falling from the ceiling to be whacked up, or rather smashed up. Amy had smashed them up good.

"Wooh!" She swung her hammer back to where she kept it stored and turned around. Across the room the double doors swung open. "I wonder what's next," Amy said. She ran across the robot littered floor and through the open doorway.

This was the second room she'd been in, and she'd had fun. She hadn't meant to have fun so soon after Knuckles' death, but she'd been unable to help herself. That voice had told her to choose a door and she'd been compelled to. And when Shadow tried to stop her, she'd taken a swing at him, something she would never do—the guy was in such dire need for money that he might sue.

However, once she'd gone through the door, the floor beneath her feet fell open and she landed onto a slide that took her down to a room that contained a maze. The landing jolted her out of the trance-like state. When she stood, she saw that the only way to go was forward. And so forward she went, into a maze that contained no end of traps that she cleverly outmaneuvered. She could almost hear Sonic telling her, "That's not you being clever; it's you being lucky." He always knew how to give a compliment.

And then there was the room where she'd whacked a bunch of robotic moles. Yeah, that was fun.

And then there was now.

Amy skidded to a halt. The latest room was dimly lit and filled with mirrors. "The House of Mirrors," she squealed. "This is always my favorite part!" She advanced through the maze of mirrors, giggling at the sight of her distorted image. "Look how tall I am." Amy stopped before one mirror and twisted and turned. "Would Sonic love me if I were this tall," she wondered. And then, as though she'd spoken of the devil, Sonic appeared. She glimpsed him out of the corner of her eye. "Sonic," she breathed. She turned.

There was not just one Sonic, but dozens of him, all reflections. "Sonic, which one's the real you," Amy called out. She ran from one Sonic to the next, only to have her reflection overtake his. "Oohh, tell me where you are." But Sonic only smiled and beckoned her forward with his hand.

Then all at once, the mirrors to her left reflected Shadow. "Shadow," she cried out, surprised.

Sonic, sounding more angry than surprised, hissed Shadow's name. His voice, Amy noted, sounded very strange. But then maybe that was because this was her first time seeing Sonic jealous. Surely he'd mistaken Shadow's presence here as meaning that he was Amy's date, sending Sonic into a jealous rage. Amy quickly corrected this erroneous thought, "He's not my date, Sonic. I came here alone. I don't know why Shadow's here, but he's not with me."

Shadow's image whirled left, then right, and Amy noticed the bruises and scorches that covered him. His eyes seemed to focus on something and he shouted, "Amy, that's not Sonic!"

Amy's eyes widened and a trembling hand covered her mouth. She shook her head, not wanting to believe what was so obvious, but how could she deny it with Shadow's battered body reflected right in front of her. "Sonic did that to you, didn't he?" It was obvious, she thought. Sonic had come here looking for her but found Shadow instead and instantly thought that Shadow was here to make a move on her. Already having green eyes, Sonic swiftly turned into a green-eyed monster and attacked Shadow, his way of staking claim on Amy. So violent had Sonic been, he'd been unrecognizable. And that's why Shadow was saying the handsome blue hedgehog reflected in all those mirrors wasn't Sonic, for Sonic could never be so violent. That's what had to have happened, Amy told herself. And despite the appalling act of violence, she found herself blushing happily. Sonic had staked his claim over her! Sexist or not, that was darn sexy!

"Oh, Sonic! I knew you cared," Amy gushed.

Still not believing the blue hedgehog to be Sonic, Shadow shouted, "That's not him, Amy! It's the murderer! You have to run away!"

Sonic laughed. "Don't believe him, Amy. It's me, your hero. Now come to me." Sonic's voice still sounded off, higher pitched. But he was staring at Amy with those lusty green eyes and beckoning her to him with his hand.

"I'm coming, Sonic!" And she ran toward him.

"Darn it, Amy," Shadow shouted. He too set off running.

"Shadow, no," Amy called out. "Sonic's really jealous right now, so you need to stay back. I don't want him hurting you again."

"For the last time," Shadow said, aggravation sounding in his voice, "that's not Sonic." Shadow leapt in the air, and suddenly both Shadow and Sonic were reflected in all mirrors, together. Shadow was punching Sonic in the face.

Amy screeched.

Sonic, however, let out an enraged yell and flipped Shadow over him. Then he tackled Shadow, twisting the downed hedgehogs arm. "Hurts, right? This is the arm that got burnt, right?" Shadow's reply was a painful scream. Sonic laughed dementedly. "And you're all out of rings."

Amy screamed again. Though not because Sonic was twisting Shadow's arm. She screamed because Sonic wasn't twisting Shadow's arm. Shadow had been right. The one she'd thought to be her hero sat with his face askew, or rather his mask askew. He was an imposter.

A sickening snap sounded in the air and brought Amy's attention back to Shadow. "Shadow…" her voice was low and scared. She stepped toward him.

"Run," Shadow commanded.

"But your arm! Ican h—"

"Get out of here!" Amy started to protest, but Shadow turned his face to her, and in his eyes she saw the twinkle of something that she'd only ever seen in Sonic's. "I'll be fine." And then as to illustrate his point, his working arm reached up and behind and grabbed the Sonic imposter and threw him away from him with surprising force. "I'll be fine," Shadow said again.

Amy nodded. Pulling out her hammer, she started knocking down the mirrors, heading in the direction she hoped led to the exit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The mirrors stood tall and imposing, no longer reflecting Shadow and the imposter Sonic; now they showed only Amy. Amy shattered mirror after mirror with swings from her mighty hammer and, with every swing, longed for a glimpse of Shadow. All sounds of the fight had stopped and she was frantic to know the victor. Shadow had to have won. He just had to.

Determined to believe in Shadow, Amy swung her hammer faster and harder. Shards of glass glided through the air, twinkling under the rays of light they caught. Then, all at once, the swinging stopped and the glass shards ceased their soaring.

The last line of mirrors that she'd swung at had fallen back to disclose a door. Amy pushed it open and entered an extremely small, circular room. At the back of the room a metal ladder stood attached to the wall and led up. Since up was the only way to go, Amy scaled the ladder.

The higher she climbed, the darker it got, but after several minutes, light spilled down over her face. She stared up and saw that the light poured through a pattern of tiny holes. Amy pushed against the surface the holes were embedded in, and the surface rose. She climbed up and out, onto black asphalt set alight by bright lampposts. A quick look around told her she was back on the movie lot.

"How in the world…" Standing, Amy looked down at the hole she'd climbed out of and then the manhole she'd pushed up. She tilted her head and frowned, confused. "This should lead to the sewers. But I came out of a funhouse." She closed her eyes and shook her head, "This doesn't make any sense."

Suddenly a hand clamped her shoulder. Amy screamed and was whirled around. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking up at two familiar faces. She gave a sigh of relief. "Bob," she said to the kangaroo who gripped her shoulder, "you almost gave me a heart attack."

Bob The Kangaroo glared down at her. "Going through the sewers to get on set. That's a new one," he growled.

Jack The Human stood at Bob's side. "Dude, like, it's totally fine she came through the sewers. She's supposed to be filming the prison scene tonight."

Bob's brow lifted, but his hold on Amy's shoulder didn't. "Really?

Jack nodded. "Really. But…" Jack looked at his watch. "The shoot should have ended by now."

Bob's brows slanted and he smirked. "So we can throw her out?"

Jack shrugged. "I guess." He smiled amiably at Amy. "Like, next time be on time, dudette."

A few minutes later, kicking and screaming, Amy was thrown off the lot. She grabbed the metal bars of the gate that separated her from the lot and demanded, "Let me in! My friend was attacked and is still down there!"

Bob rolled his eyes and shooed her away. "I'm sure the Ninja Turtles are just fine."

"What?" Ninja Turtles? They weren't real. And besides, they lived in the sewers. "That was a funhouse down there! A funhouse!"

Bob snorted. "Only _you_ could find fun in running around the sewers." After waving her away one more time, he took out his Taser and pointed it at her. "Now get your hands off my gate or I'll happily use this."

Amy forcefully pushed away from the gate. She turned to Jack, who was always the nicer of the two, showing just as much care to others as he did to his sick mother in the hospital. "Jack, Please let me in."

Still smiling, Jack shook his head. "Like, no can do. But…" Jack paused, and for a moment, there was a flicker in his eyes—something of sadness mixed with guilt. "But why don't you go down to the police station and tell them what happened," he suggested. "Then, like, they'll come over here and we'll have no choice but to, like, let them look around and stuff."

Amy smiled and clapped her hands. "Thanks, Jack!"

The guilty look returned to Jack's eyes, but Amy didn't see, having already set off for the police station.

* * *

"But you don't understand! Someone changed my set to an evil funhouse. My friend was supposed to meet me on set, but I think she got pulled into the funhouse too."

Amy pushed open the police station doors and rushed in to hear Tails pleading with the cop at the front desk. Frowning, the cop said, "Look kid—"

"I'm a fox," Tails corrected.

"Whatever. The point is, we sent someone there to check your story out, but there was no "evil" fun house, just a regular old movie set. So I've got no choice but to believe your story is a hoax. Now, unless you want to tell me how you _really _got all those cuts and bruises," he pointed toward where Amy stood, "you know where the door is."

Shaking with visible anger, Tails turned around. He froze. "Amy?"

"Tails?"

The two ran to each other and threw their arms about one another. "I was so worried," Tails said.

"It was so awful," Amy said. "I went looking for you and—"

"I know," Tails said. He pulled back and took Amy's hand. "Let's get out of here." Once outside, Tails said, "We should go to your apartment to talk."

She shook her head. "No, we can't. Shadow's still in that funhouse."

"Shadow? What are you talking about? Oh, you mean that guy Sonic got to act as Shadow for this movie?"

She pulled Tails to a stop. "No, I mean the real Shadow. Tails, he survived and he's stuck in the funhouse. We have to go back for him."

Tails shook his head. "This is all a bit much to take in. Shadow's alive? And why would he be in the funhouse?"

"He was trying to help me. Tails, we can't leave him."

Tails shook his head. "Amy, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for him. We have no idea what will happen if we go back there."

"Then let's get Sonic. He'll make everything okay, like he always does."

Tails frowned and looked away from her. "Amy…I haven't been able to get in contact with Sonic."

"What?"

"That's why I came to the police. I think whoever killed Knuckles is the one who tried to kill us and…I think he may have already gotten Sonic."

"No."

"That's why we need to go to your apartment. We need to calm down and come up with some kind of strategy to stop this guy."

Amy trembled. "Sonic…"

Tails touched her shoulder. "We don't know for sure if he got Sonic or not. But we can't depend on Sonic right now. We've got to think of a solution ourselves."

Amy nodded, holding back tears. "You're right," she whispered.

Tails nodded and gently took her hand. "Let's go."

* * *

Amy opened the door to her apartment and mindlessly drifted inside, falling onto the couch. Lying on her stomach, she buried her face into the arm cushion and tried not to cry. She vaguely heard Tails close and lock the door behind him. His footsteps were soft as he walked over to her. She could feel his presence as he stared down at her and knew he must be worried for her. "I'm not crying," she croaked out; though in another few moments she might be.

Tails' mind seemed to be elsewhere. "No one else is here right? Vanilla doesn't have you babysitting Cream again, does she?"

Amy turned her face to Tails. His face was as pensive as his voice. "No. We're alone."

Tails sighed, but his features formed a look a discomfort. "That's good. Don't want to get anyone else involved."

Amy sat up. "What are you talking about?"

Tails stared at her, eyes pained but voice determined. "It's your fault. You should've just stopped digging for information." He sighed again and stepped forward. "I didn't want to do it like this…you weren't supposed to make it out of the funhouse."

Amy was confused, both by Tails' words and her strangely mounting fear. "Tails…what are you talking about," she asked again.

Tails looked at her sadly. "You made me do this." And then he lunged at her.

Surprised, Amy didn't have time to move, and before she knew what was happening, Tails had pushed her down on the couch. With shocking strength, his hands held hers above her head while his tails slipped around her throat. "It'll only hurt for a little while," he whispered. And then his tails began squeezing with unforgivable force, cutting off her supply of oxygen.

"Tails," she managed to squeak out. "W-why?"

Sorrowfully, Tails answered, "Because of Sonic."

Then everything went black.


End file.
